La ‘Paraphrase de Sem’ (NH VII,1), le ‘Codex manichéen de Cologne’ et la polémique antibaptismale

Abstract

This paper examines the anti-baptismal polemic with which the Paraphrase of Shem (NH VII, 1) ends, based on what we know of the Elchasaite Baptist movement and what we learn from the Manichean Codex of Cologne. In the light of these sources, it can be hypothesized that the young Mani witnessed the controversy that must have arisen between the members of the Elchasaite community to which he belonged and those who propagated the doctrine of the Paraphrase directed against their baptismal practices. The controversies generated by this writing may have influenced Mani in his decision to leave his community and in the development of his anti-baptismal doctrine, but also, more generally, in some points of his system.